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By Grant (Falcon124), on February 28th, 2015%  Oris Immortals at Avalon 2015 Team PCDU were at Avalon 2015 and they captured lots of great content once again. With three episodes already released, there’s still more content to go in a future episode or two.
As we release each Avalon 2015 episode we’ll include a link below:
By Grant (Falcon124), on February 28th, 2015% Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:30:54 — 62.7MB) Subscribe: The Australian International Airshow (aka Avalon Airshow) is held every two years and runs for 6 days with the first 3 being trade-only. The 4th day of the show is always on a Friday and the public start coming in around midday then stay for the night show, a feature of Avalon for well over 15 years. The final two days are the weekend and, as you might expect, are packed with public enjoying the action and static displays.
Once again Team PCDU are at Avalon every day gathering plenty of content for your listening pleasure. This episode holds the first block of interviews we’ve prepared while the show is still going. At the rate we’re going we’ll have another two episodes of Avalon content but for now, here’s how this one unfolds:
- 0:03:38 – Sergeant Xavier “X” Sheriff is a loadmaster on the C130J and he’s recently returned from Red Flag at Nellis.
- 0:11:47 – Flying Officer “Guns” was also at Red Flag but while he is command rated on the C130J, he spent the duration of Red Flag performing the tactical planning for each mission.
- 0:21:07 – Steve caught up with Simon Hackett in his PC12 (VH-TCP) and they talk about gliding, the Cirrus SR22, the PC12 and Simon’s next aircraft, the Pilatus PC24 jet.
- 0:46:37 – Maikha Ly caught up with Graeme Horne from Cirrus and they review the Cirrus Jet, the market for Cirrus aircraft in Australia and the “Australis” version of the SR22
 Pilatus PC24 Cockpit Mockup
- 0:57:40 – Steve talks to Basil Lenzo about Evektor Aircraft’s Sportstar & Harmony aircraft, the scene at their home base in Perth and their new operation at Moorabbin
- 1:02:57 – Grant & Steve ran into Matt Hall and had a good chat about his recent podium finish in the Red Bull Air Race, his new winglets & aircraft handling, developments at Belmont airport (YPEC) that Matt & a consortium recently purchased and QBE’s Airmanship program.
- 1:17:08 – Following on from his chat with Simon in the PC12, Steve caught up with Andre Zimmerman to discuss the Pilatus PC24.
- 1:24:40 – We wrap up the episode and talk about the Airbus A400M transport. We also mention that in addition to Steven Pam taking lots of amazing images, Maikha’s running around with his selfie-stick & distinctive hat. If you get your photo taken with Maikha, you’ll be in the running to get some prizes :)
 The Pilatus PC24 Mock Up
By Grant (Falcon124), on December 31st, 2014% Podcast: Play in new window | Download (92.1MB) Subscribe: As the final hours of 2014 draw to a close, we’re getting our last episode for 2014 out the door. The boys have been kept pretty busy with their day jobs lately but, despite this, they’ve managed to do some flying:
- Grant’s been taking friends on their first balloon flights including Evan Schoo and Darren Craven
- Fred Samson took Steve for a fly over San Francisco while he was there a back in October
- Steve got to fly a 172 in Las Vegas thanks to Rod Rakic & AirWork Las Vegas, an OpenAirplane member
- The PCDU aeroplane fleet has expanded thanks to Jonesy picking up a 1974 model Cessna 172
After the hangar talk settles down, we get into the episode itself which includes the recent Avalon Airshow Media Launch, Steve’s time at the Red Bull Air Race in Las Vegas and Grant’s trip to Auckland in New Zealand for the Wings Over New Zealand Forum meet up. The episode stacks up in the following list:  Steve with the AirWork Cessna 172 he flew over Las Vegas
- Grant attended the media launch for the Avalon Airshow which was held in the old Qantas hangar where they used to park a 747 while doing heavy maintenance on it. There was wind on the hangar walls, doors opening, vehicles moving and people talking which all made it a rather “interesting†place to record the following chats:
- 0:16:29 – Jeff “Trappo†Trappett finally gets a chance to appear on PCDU (that or he couldn’t run away fast enough :) ) and talks to Grant about his P51, his C47 & his Sabre
- 0:22:34 – Paul Bennet talks about his new Wolf Pitts aircraft, the manoeuvres it’s letting him do and where things are at with Paul Bennet Airshows (sounds like he’s got a bit of an airforce happening :) )
- 0:26:36 – Darren Craven talks about owning & flying a Winjeel
- 0:33:30 – Gordon Robinson talks about flying Australia’s only Fokker Dr.1 triplane replica all the way down to Melbourne from Brisbane
- 0:39:38 – Andrew Carter owns & flies the Dr.1 replica that Gordon flew down. He talks to us about setting up the Australian Vintage Aviation Society to commemorate WW1 & bring to life aircraft of the era.
- 0:48:28 – Of course, there wouldn’t be aircraft at Avalon without a session on Timbo’s Tarmac and Grant made sure to record one at this event
- Back in October, Steve went to the USA to experience the Red Bull Air Race in Las Vegas (his family still thinks it was a family trip :) ). While at the event he recorded the following interviews:
 Steve chats with Matt Hall at the Red Bull Air Race in Las Vegas
- 0:59:33 – Eric Cieslar & Peter Wezenbeek are Matt Hall’s race technician & race tactician and they talk about their roles in keeping Matt flying in top form during the races
- 1:05:30 – Hannes Arch talks about standardised engines and how they’ve highlighted the pilot’s skills as opposed to engine power
- 1:09:06 – Kirby Chambliss talks about the challenges he’s faced this season and the changes he’ll be making for the next season
- 1:13:42 – Mike Goulian talks about his involvement with Cirrus aircraft and the hassles he’s worked through this season
- 1:19:48 – Steve catches up with Matt once again just prior to the start of the second day to discuss qualifying
- 1:21:55 – Steve presents a wrap up of the race after the winds came up and they had to cancel the day’s flying (audio courtesy of the Red Bull Air Race content pool)
- 1:24:21 – Rod Rakic talks about OpenAirplane
- As Steve was on a Qantas A380 heading to the USA, Grant was on an Air New Zealand A320 heading to New Zealand to attend the Wings Over New Zealand Forum gathering at Ardmore Airport near Auckland. More than just a gathering, this event included plenty of presentations on great topics, all hosted within the New Zealand Warbirds hangar. While Dave Homewood is releasing much of the content from the event on his Wings Over New Zealand show, Grant recorded a few items of his own:
- 1:33:54 – Brett Nicholls talks about owning two ex-RNZAF BAC 167 Strikemasters and what it’s taken to get them running for publically available joy flights with Jetfighter Military Adventure Flights
 Graham Wood taxies the DH.83 Fox Moth
- While Grant didn’t get a chance to record with Melanie Salisbury from Aviation Tours NZ, she did pass on some information about their “Planes, Trains & Automobiles†tour of the UK in July 2015 which includes Duxford’s “Flying Legends†airshow. It looks like a great tour with plenty of aviation goodness packed into it :)
 Steve & Grant recommend you check out Spotters Mag
- Steve & Grant have been enjoying the new Spotters Mag, an eMag for aviation spotters with a version just for Australia & New Zealand. Highly recommended!
- Carlos Stebbings from the Plane Talking UK show is doing his pilot’s license: onya, mate!
- Steve would like to thank Captain Harry Wubbin for his hospitality on board QF93
- Steve & Grant thank Paul Burfitt from 64 for his great help this year
- Don’t forget that the Avalon Airshow 2015 is coming up in a few months and we’re looking forward to seeing you there
- With tickets on sale already, it’s definitely time to start thinking about the Temora Aviation Museum‘s Warbirds Down Under event coming up in November
By Grant (Falcon124), on March 31st, 2013% Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 43:09 — 39.7MB) Subscribe:  One of the many RAAF C17s at Avalon 2013 We still have some Avalon 2013 coverage not yet released so we decided to produce a single episode dedicated to the C17 as there were multiple RAAF C17s and a USAF C17 present on the final day. In keeping with our previous Avalon 2013 episodes, this one is under an hour and gathers the following content together:
- 0:03:08 – RAAF C17 pilot FLTLT Dirk Taylor talks about flying the aircraft & his career
- 0:10:59 – RAAF C17 techo Sgt David Everett talks about maintaining the aircraft & his transition from the DHC-4 Caribou
- 0:22:09 – RAAF Loadmaster WOFF Paul Lemarshall walks us through the C17s cargo hold
- 0:33:29 – USAF Capt Brian Carron talks about interoperability between USAF & RAAF C17 aircraft & crew
- 0:39:22 – We wrap up the episode
Given the focus on the C17 in this episode, it was a given that we’d include a promotion for the Australian Defence Force Recruiting, right? You can call them on 13 19 01 :)
By Grant (Falcon124), on February 21st, 2013% Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:26:38 — 100.8MB) Subscribe:  Our 100th Episode – a Ton of great content When we began producing this show WAY back in July 2009, we had no idea that we’d make it to 100 episodes, have travelled to multiple events within Australia, been to Oshkosh and be just about to cover a second Avalon Airshow with a bigger team than ever before. We’ve learned so much about producing a quality & enjoyable aviation show, had aviation related experiences we never dreamed of, dabbled with video production and even spun off a few side-projects for other shows. We’re also very appreciative of you, our audience. The fact that you’re all still here with us, telling us what we’re getting right (& wrong :) ) and enjoying the results of our efforts makes the late nights all worth while.
For this episode we’ve resisted the temptation to do a retrospective or rehash earlier content (except for a bit at the start & the end of the episode :) ). Instead, we’ve put together some interviews with well known people about a couple of up-coming events and a discussion about the dreaded Biennial Flight Review (BFR), now known as an Aeroplane Flight Review (AFR).
Here’s how Episode 100 unfolds:
- 0:06:09 – Grant talks a little about his recent trip to Malaysia as a guest of Malaysia Airlines
- 0:11:54 – ATC Ben talks about the proposed new Australian ATC Management system called oneSky with Lockheed Martin being demonstrating their SkyLine Enterprise system as a contender
- 0:15:46 – We chat with Peter Meehan about his career as a RAAF Reserve media officer, doing air show commentary, being the “Voice of Avalon” and even learning to fly
 Paul McKeown is a CFI with Recreational Flying Company in Gympie, QLD
- 1:19:14 – Matt Hall joins us once again to discuss a few things he’s working on including a day-long fly past of aircraft from Super Hornets to Tiger Moths as part of the Bicentennial celebrations for the first crossing of the Blue Mountains in Sydney. He also chats about his new book (The Sky is Not the Limit) and gives us an updated on whether the RedBull AirRace will ever return
- 1:58:19 – We return to summarise the episode and review a few of the key points
- 2:01:34 – Listener mail!
- David Neafsey sent us a letter and a 100th birthday card – all via snail mail! Yes, remember that? Good thing we have a snail mail address, eh? (PO Box 70, Cranbourne VIC 3977)
- Ian Kershaw from Calgary sent in an audio message
- Steve at Warneet asks us to organise an interview with Judy Pay
- “Mick from the Frankston Line” has sent us a number of great emails that have been a LOT of fun to read. Awesome stuff, mate!
- Ryan Hothersall writes in to express his disdain of NIMBYS. No argument from us on that one!
- We give a Shout Out to Carl Valeri from the Stuck Mic Avcast for gaining his A320 type rating! Well done, mate! :)
- 2:10:57 – Steve’s wife Cathey finally joins us on the podcast and, of all events, it’s to help with the drawing of the winner of our “First to 750” competition. The lucky winner is Gary Murphy who has scored himself a free Trial Introductory Flight with Aus Air Services at Tooradin (YTDN). WOO HOO! :)
So there you go, our 100th episode! Thanks to all our supporters for keeping us motivated and lets see how many of you are able to make it to Avalon 2013 :)
NOTE: Check out the blooper reel: It’s a quick montage of glitches from the past four years including our Australia Desk and Flying Down Under shows.
By Grant (Falcon124), on December 30th, 2012% Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:59:52 — 82.6MB) Subscribe:  As 2012 draws to a close come & spend a bit of time with Steve, Grant, Bas & ATC Ben as they wrap up the year with some new content, some discussions and a bit of fun. It’s another long episode but we think it’s a pretty good way to send out the year :)
The episode unfolds as:
- 0:03:30 – We discuss issues CASA are having with RA-Aus that has seen a number of LSA grounded due to administrative issues, one of which was Bas’ own aircraft
- 0:21:35 – An update on the fight to save Aldinga Aerodrome
- 0:29:10 – An interview Steve & Grant recorded with Brian & Rick from Commando Skydivers at the recent Tooradin Aviation Day
 0:40:33 – a chat we recorded with Dan O’Donnell (RAAF F18 pilot who also flies with Matt Hall Racing) and Angie Morino (from Aus Air Services)
- 0:57:42 – Anthony Simmons returns at last with The View From The Lounge #13: The Phantom Dolmades Roller
- 1:03:14 – Steven Pam has sent us a Christmas Greeting
- 1:04:54 – Steve, Grant, Bas & ATC_Ben discuss the View from the Lounge and Top Gun
- NOTE: The Collective View From The Lounge is a compilation audio CD featuring 14 TVFTL segments that you can package for AUS$7.50 (posted within Australia) or AUS$12.50 (posted internationally). It’s a great collection of Anthony Simmons at his best & makes for a lot of enjoyable listening. You can purchase it by using our “Donate” button to send through your $$$ & note that you’re buying a copy in the “Purpose” message box. We can sort out your address via emails once the order is in :)
- 1:07:17 – Bas talks about the latest updates to the OzRunways app and gives us his response to the “OzRunways for Android” lobby on Facebook
- 1:16:51 – ATC_Ben talks about becoming an On Job Trainer Instructor in the ATC world
- 1:21:34 – CASA have introduced a Notice of Final Rule Making regarding the use of EFBs in Australian skies (PDF) – and the news is good, according to Bas
- 1:32:12 – Tech in the cockpit comes up along with the inevitable IOS vs Android vs Windows 8 with Bas in the Blue Corner and Grant in the Red Corner. DING!!!!
- 1:33:16 – Ben Jones sends us a Christmas greeting
- 1:33:39 – Damien Rose also sends us a Christmas greeting
 1:25:12 – We spend some time reviewing the highlights of 2012, including:
- Grant got his balloon license
- ATC_Ben went to the USA and Oshkosh 2012
- Steve got a C130 ride over Sydney
- Bas changed his work and lifestyle to focus on OzRunways, allowing him to work for himself and move to a property where he’s setting up a runway on the front yard (now, where have we heard *that* phrase before? :) )
- 1:43:49 – We look forward to 2013 and talk a little about our Avalon 2013 plans and how we’re always up for new sponsors for our Avalon coverage
 1:50:13 – We give shout-outs to those who have helped us over 2012, including:
- Sponsors & Advertisers: JetRide Australia, OzRunways, , AvSoft & Adventure Wings
- Those who helped make AusFly such a success: QBE Insurance, Aero Refuellers & Narromine Shire Council
- Courtney Miller & Max Flight for inspiring PCDU
- Cathey Visscher & Kitt Loughman for their on-going support behind the scenes and their endless roles as “podcast widows”
- Of course, a big thanks goes out to our audience for doing us the honour of listening to our programme, supporting it, interacting with us and much much more
With 2013 practically on top of us, we’re going to enjoy some New Year celebrations and then get back to work on completing Episode 99 which covers the C130H retirement & is due out in late January.
By Grant (Falcon124), on April 10th, 2011% Podcast: Play in new window | Download (64.7MB) Subscribe: Most people interested or involved in aviation have a special love for warbirds and antique aircraft and we at PCDU are certainly no exception. This episode features a number of interviews with pilots of Warbirds & antique aircraft that were recorded at Avalon Airshow and at Point Cook when the RAAF Pilgrimage arrived.
The RAAF Pilgrimage was held to celebrate the 90th birthday of the RAAF & comprised a collection of more than 50 aircraft that flew from Temora to Tocumwal to Ballarat and finally to Point Cook. The Pilgrimage aicraft arrived at Point Cook (the birth place of the RAAF) and we were there to greet them.
This episode contains the following interviews from the RAAF Pilgrimage:
- Air Commodore Rodney Luke
- Steve Death
- Doug Hamilton
- Egon Mahr from the Russian Roolettes
- Col Griffin & Warren Canning
We also have some other warbird related discussions, including:
- Kenny Love, CEO of the Temora Aviation Museum
- Ben Morgan from Aviation Advertiser and the Macchi 326H restoration project he is a member of
- Darren “Buster” Crabb
- Gus Lerrard
We then round out the episode with:
- Listener Mail:
- Shout Outs:
- Ken & Tim get recognition for their Millions Against Malaria flight
- Matt from New St Films for the help with our photo shoots
- Listener Andrew Tsousis for putting us in touch with Ben Merkenhof
- Iat-Fai Leong for his support of the show
- Erk for his support & his new book
We also have some additional content that can be found in our Extras section. This time we have a recording of the post-flight debrief by the Yak Attack formation pilots.
Finally, we would like to offer our condolences to our friend Milford Shirley from the Flight Time Radio Show in Florida, USA, who’s wife Barbara passed away recently.
By Grant (Falcon124), on March 26th, 2011% Podcast: Play in new window | Download (55.8MB) Subscribe: The Australian International Airshow (aka Avalon 2011) is over but the show must go on. We have mountains of content from Avalon 2011 in addition to the interviews we released in each of our daily episodes.
Yes, that’s right: If you haven’t downloaded & listened to each of the daily episodes then you should stop right now and go do it. There is some amazing content in those episodes that will NOT be in the post-show Avalon episodes, including F22 Raptor pilots, B1B crew, Dr Brendan Nelson, remote tower systems, Simmo & the CA27 Sabre plus much much more.
This episode we focus on the Trade Show aspect of Avalon 2011, gathering together the interviews we recorded with various corporations during the first few days of the show:
After some intense trade show coverage, we also step back a bit with the latest ‘View from the Lounge’ update from Anthony Simmons before winding up the episode with some Listener Mail:
- David Thornton says “Hi” from the UK and thinks our Avalon Quick Cast episodes were just like being there.
- Mac Coble from Florida
- Bruce Dickerson from Georgia
We also have a few important shout outs:
- Gary Towart who helped escort us at the KC135 and warbirds tarmac, preventing us from getting hassled :)
- MozzMan from SRS Photography who escorted us during our interviews with Nikolay, Bob, Kent & Chris plus took a few photos of us in action
- Ian Kershaw who’s put together our new audience survey
- We now have a PCDU Flickr stream where our Avalon 2011 photos are being loaded along with others from past events
Thanks once again for downloading & listening to our show. Be sure to catch up with our Avalon Daily episodes as there is lots of great content in those too.
By Grant (Falcon124), on March 6th, 2011% Podcast: Play in new window | Download (59.0MB) Subscribe: We’ve made it to the end of day 6 of the Australian International Airshow and Aerospace & Defence Exposition (aka Avalon 2011). It’s the final day of the airshow and once again Team PCDU have been flat out interviewing, editing and generally having fun. We’ve spent some time chatting with the crew of a KC-135 inside their aircraft, interviewed a number of acts, caught up with the Temora Aviation Museum crew and generally had a great time.
We’re also acknowledging that these daily episodes should have been called “Daily Avalon Updates” or anything other than “Quick Casts.” To really confirm that, we’ve put quite a lot of content in this episode, including:
- Grant’s chat with Paul Simmons recorded while sitting on the wing of the CA27 Sabre
- Nikolay Timofeev talks about flying aerobatics in his Sukhoi 26
- Anthony Simmons presents a short View from the B52’s Lounge
- Kent Pietsch talks to us about flying the “Jelly Belly” Cadet & his various routines while Chris Williams from the same team talks about driving the mobile landing-platform vehicle
- Being updated by Colonel Seth Bretscher on the amount of work involved in getting so many USAF & USN aircraft & airmen down to Avalon (and why there was no B2 & the F22s didn’t fly)
- An update from Ian Honnery on how the airshow is going so far
- A quick chat with Ed Stubbs, a listener from Perth who came over to Avalon for the show
- The final tarmac updates from Timbo with the warbirds & Papa Smurf at the Keyhole
These Avalon Quick Cast episodes are being sponsored by Aviation Advertiser and supported by Red Baron and Temby Automotive.
By Grant (Falcon124), on March 5th, 2011% Podcast: Play in new window | Download (33.3MB) Subscribe: It’s day 5 of the Australian International Airshow and Aerospace & Defence Exposition (aka Avalon 2011) and it’s the first whole day open to the general public. The PCDU team have had one of the most amazing days of their lives with time in the venerable B52, getting up close & personal with the Wedgetail, checking out the GA8 Airvan and relaxing on the wing of the CA27 Sabre. The content we selected for this Quick Cast includes:
- Our chat with Squadron Leader Matt Harper, an RAAF pilot on exchange with the USAF who’s flying the F22 Raptor
- Steve’s in-cockpit discussion with David Wheatland, the chief pilot for the GippsAero GA-8 Airvan
- Talking with Flight Lieutenant Skye Smith about RAAF Public Affairs, her career to date & where it may lead in the future
- Today’s tarmac updates from Timbo with the warbirds & Taffy reluctantly agrees to cover for Papa Smurf at the Keyhole
These Avalon Quick Cast episodes are being sponsored by Aviation Advertiser and supported by Red Baron and Temby Automotive.
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PCDU Episode 100: The Ton
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:26:38 — 100.8MB)
Subscribe: RSS
Our 100th Episode – a Ton of great content
For this episode we’ve resisted the temptation to do a retrospective or rehash earlier content (except for a bit at the start & the end of the episode :) ). Instead, we’ve put together some interviews with well known people about a couple of up-coming events and a discussion about the dreaded Biennial Flight Review (BFR), now known as an Aeroplane Flight Review (AFR).
Here’s how Episode 100 unfolds:
Paul McKeown is a CFI with Recreational Flying Company in Gympie, QLD
So there you go, our 100th episode! Thanks to all our supporters for keeping us motivated and lets see how many of you are able to make it to Avalon 2013 :)
NOTE: Check out the blooper reel: It’s a quick montage of glitches from the past four years including our Australia Desk and Flying Down Under shows.